Police were predicting 400 people might turn up, instead up to 5000 scientists and science supporters rallied and marched through Melbourne streets as part of the global #marchforscience rallies organized in about 600 cities and towns around the world. Australia’s scientists have already felt Federal budget cuts for science research and funding for the CSIRO reduced, and have campaigned against such attacks on science with some limited success, with the aid of international colleagues. The inauguration of the Trump regime in the United States and the spectacular success of the women’s march on Washington DC the day after inauguration were strong motivating factors for scientists to organise this very public […]

Blue carbon is part of the solution to tackle climate change. So why aren’t we talking about it far more? Blue carbon refers to the carbon sequestration potential of coastal ecosystems: that zone reaching from just above the high tide mark to the coastal shallows. It includes salt marsh, mangroves and seagrass meadow ecosystems. We need to take care and nurture our coastal ecosystems as they can play a vital role in bio-sequestration of carbon at rates far in excess of forests and soil carbon farming. Biologists working with seagrasses met to present papers and discuss scientific practices at the 12th International Seagrass Biology Workshop (ISBW) (Conference website) in Wales […]

In a sea of white balloons with the message in blue, ‘Save CSIRO Jobs’, about 500 people rallied in Melbourne in support of CSIRO staff to protest the staff cuts announced by CEO Larry Marshall in early February. Many of the 350 job cuts will go from the Atmosphere and Oceans Division, and the Land and Water division. Both of these areas specialise in climate change research, key for projecting changes enabling adaptation strategies to be worked out. The rally was organised by the CSIRO Staff Association, a section of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU). See background article: Climate science staff cuts #CSIROcuts labelled as science vandalism Speakers […]

The announced staff cuts and restructure announced by CSIRO CEO Larry Marshall have been labelled as science vandalism and an abandonment of Australia’s scientific commitments under the Paris Agreement signed by Australia less than 2 months ago. Australian climate science is essential for collecting data and provide good modelling and projections for Australia’s variable but warming climate for agricultural, economic and health impacts. It is also vital for studying the southern hemisphere impacts of a changing Antarctica and Southern Ocean on the global climate. Our climate research from the southern hemisphere is highly important to global research programs and climate models. Updated details: Climate scientists stage a very civil protest […]

Jellyfish, jellyfish. I hope you love jellyfish! We are creating just the right conditions in our oceans for more jellyfish, including the deadly species of Box jellyfish and Irukandji. We are changing our marine environment giving an advantage to jellyfish over the fish we love to catch and eat, and also giving jellyfish a chance to roam further with warming sea surface temperatures due to climate change. Some of those jellyfish are also very venomous and can deliver lethal stings requiring emergency treatment and hospitalisation that cost our health system and the reputation of our tourism industry. Australian marine scientists have developed a proto-type method for Northern Queensland for forecasting […]

As part of the research undertaken for No Fibs recent article #CSG science provides no easy conclusions, posted on September 15, this writer addressed several questions to representatives of Origin Energy regarding their Ironbark coal seam gas (CSG) project and local landholders the Ansfords, who believe they may be suffering adverse health and environmental impacts due to their close proximity to ongoing CSG operations. The response sent to this writer by Chris Zipf, senior external affairs and internal communication manager for Origin in Queensland, provides an insight into the kind of response landholders and community members facing CSG developments on their properties or in their local area can expect when asking […]